Longtime Community Physician William “Billy” Murphy, MD, Named Trustee
Columbia Memorial Health today announced the appointment of long time community physician William “Billy” Murphy, M.D. to the organization’s Board of Trustees. He began his term on June 22.
A graduate of the Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Murphy completed his residency in family medicine at the Williamsport Hospital and Medical Center in Williamsport Pennsylvania, and completed a fellowship in rural family medicine at the Tacoma Family Medicine Residence program in Tacoma, Washington. He has led CMH’s family practice in Chatham for more than 20 years.
An active community member, Dr. Murphy has volunteered to serve numerous organizations, including the Kinderhook Planning Board and Ichabod Crane Board of Education.
“Columbia Memorial Health is an essential and irreplaceable provider of care to our rural communities,” Dr. Murphy said. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be part of CMH’s continued efforts to improve rural health and provide the very best care to our region.
“One of the keys to a healthy community is local access to high quality care. We’re fortunate to have that access across CMH’s regional network. However, due to lingering COVID-19 concerns, many people who need care are not seeing their providers,” Dr. Murphy said. “As a physician and as a member of the Board of Trustees, I want to assure our patients that it is safe to access care. Please don’t wait any longer if you have been delaying a visit with your provider, or if you have an injury or illness.”
Columbia Memorial Health Board of Trustees Chair Deborah Lans said: “Dr. Murphy’s commitment to his patients and his community is well known throughout the region. We have been fortunate to have him on our medical staff for many years, and we are even more fortunate to have him on the Board to help steer CMH’s agenda today and long into the future.”
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TESTIMONIALS
I received incredible care in the Emergency Department and the Emergency Observation Unit at Columbia Memorial Health. A heartfelt thank you to the entire team for saving my life. My wife of 30 years, my four children, my extended family and friends are forever grateful to the CMH Emergency/Observation teams, Dr. Stanger, Dr. Weber, P.A. Patrick, RN Justin, RN Miranda, and RN Rhonda.
An avalanche of medical staff descended on the cubicle and surrounded her bed, and while the doctor asked her questions, the rest went about their dedicated tasks with speed and professionalism. I stood back and watched with tears welling in my eyes as I realized that someone I loved very deeply was receiving the benefit of a highly skilled, well trained and dedicated team of nurses and doctors who are a credit to the ER and your hospital.
We think we will never need an emergency room visit, but most likely it will happen. When that time does occur, we all hope for the best physicians and care possible you will find at Columbia Memorial Health. We in Columbia and Greene Counties are blessed with a very special hospital and caring staff. I would suggest, we as residents, support this institution in every way possible as one day it will be your turn to visit as it was mine.
I’ve had a home here for 16 years, but have never had cause to visit your ER or hospital beyond visiting a friend. Well, that changed this past week. What I wanted to share that from my time in the ER to my stay in the hospital I was impressed with the level of care I received and the friendly attitude that accompanied it. I was bracing for the worst, especially given the pandemic — and so was doubly surprised. What was also striking to me was that this was the case from the Doctor level to the maintenance level. And it wasn’t just me – I could observe the same treatment applied to others, some of whom were particularly challenging to deal with. Thank you for all you do and thank you for all you did for me on my recent visit. It’s great to know there’s a place like CMH to turn to when you’re amidst a health crisis.